Guillermo X. Garcia: Van de Putte en español

San Antonio state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte is dusting off her tildes and watching her punctuation — “It won’t do to sound Tex-Mex when the dialects between Puerto Ricans in New York, Cubans in Miami and Mexican-Americans in California and Texas are so varied” — as she prepares for a major speech en español.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Nev. Sen. Harry Reid selected the San Antonio law maker to deliver the Democratic Party’s response to the President’s State of the Union. Later this summer, she’ll be co-chairing the national party convention.

Van de Putte said while the address will be her party’s offical view, “it will also be very much about the viewpoint and perspective of Hispanic-Americans — whether it is from the lady at Rafa’s Cafe on Hildebrand or from the CEOs of Latino-owned businesses.”

This weekend Van de Putte, a nine-year senator representing the South Side, will fly to Washington, where she will tape her speech on Monday.

The comments, which she has been working on for a while now — drafts have flown from her to Pelosi’s office and back again all week — will be aired after Bush presents his view of the nation Monday night.

She said the speech in Spanish was crafted with help from state Reps. Pete Gallego of Alpine and Rafael Anchia of Dallas, a Kansas legislator, and representatives of Reid and Pelosi.

“I won’t be ripping the president, I respect the office way too much,” she said, “but we live in very scary times, whether the war or the economy, the fear of the slide into recession; things are happening that have major impact on people’s lives.”

Van de Putte, who says her Spanish “isn’t so good, or does need working on,” says she has found the ideal place to practice her speech without the fear of interruption.

“The shower, I’ve found, is the best place. I go in there and practice. No one bothers me and I can talk and talk away.”